In a raw moment on stage in Saratoga Springs, Jelly Roll made it clear that the internet got it wrong. “Nobody cheated on nobody,” he declared, breaking his silence on the very public dissolution of his decade-long marriage to Bunnie XO. He called her his “best friend forever,” making it clear this was the first and only time he would speak publicly about the split.
The country star told the crowd that he and Bunnie had just spoken on the phone earlier that day and that she “will probably be the only woman I’ll ever love the way I loved her”. The timing of his comments coincided directly with the release of an episode of Bunnie’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, in which she laid out her side of the story in full. Jelly Roll acknowledged the podcast himself, publicly backing her account and encouraging fans to listen.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2016 after a whirlwind romance and renewed their vows in 2023, quietly called it quits earlier this year. Court documents filed in Williamson County, Tennessee, on May 18 list “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split and show the couple separated on May 9. Though sources initially described the split as mutual, Bunnie’s own account suggests a more emotionally charged backstory.
In her podcast, Bunnie XO provided a deeply honest breakdown of what actually went wrong. She revealed the divorce was sparked by a heated argument on Mother’s Day, during which she, in a moment of sheer frustration, told her husband to “file the f***ing divorce papers”. In their relationship, she explained, that was a line she never crossed because she “doesn’t say what she doesn’t mean,” unlike her husband, who she referred to as a “runner.” Bunnie admitted that after she packed a bag and left, the emotional distance between them grew.
The most unexpected revelation, however, is that the end of their marriage does not mean the end of their family plans. Bunnie confirmed that despite the divorce, they are still proceeding with their surrogacy journey and plan to have a baby together. “We are having our little nugget together,” she said, noting that they plan to co-parent. Bunnie has been open about their IVF struggles, which she has described as “gut-wrenching,” and a history of lost embryos. She says they are ending the marriage “on the best possible terms,” committed to staying best friends and raising their future child as one big, happy family. “He is my best friend,” she emphasized. “That’s the most important thing”.
